A composed innings from Lee Carseldine led Queensland to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over South Australia in the Twenty20 Big Bash clash at the Gabba.

Carseldine provided one half of a powerful pairing as he and Nathan Reardon combined for a third-wicket stand of 85 from just 49 balls to swing the match in the Bulls' favour.

The game hinged on two key moments. Redbacks debutant Kane Richardson dropped a relatively simple offering from Reardon on 2, and earlier, second-gamer Wade Townsend plucked a screamer to remove Redbacks run-machine Michael Klinger as his innings of 42 was beginning to blossom.

The Bulls looked in trouble chasing a modest 164 when Townsend exited with the total at 43, but Carseldine and Reardon in particular made the Redbacks pay for missed opportunities. Reardon clubbed five sixes in his 23-ball 46 which changed the game. Carseldine continued his exceptional form anchoring the chase with 67 from 47 deliveries, to ensure the Bulls cruised to victory with 12 balls to spare.

The Bulls could have been chasing plenty more after the Redbacks got away to a blistering start thanks to Daniel Harris and Klinger, who posted 50 in the first five overs. But the innings ground to a halt with good spells from Chris Simpson and Ben Laughlin, plus some superb fielding, reining the visitors in.

Graham Manou and Sohail Tanvir salvaged the innings with a good late-order stand but similar to their clash with the Blues, the Redbacks came up at least 20 runs short.

The loss ends the Redbacks' campaign while the Bulls, with one game remaining, sit third on the Big Bash table, still in contention for the final.